5 Steps to Becoming an Outstanding Customer Expert

Many of you are good at being Customer focussed, and are Customer Experts.
How can you become an outstanding Customer expert? You just need to follow
a few steps given below.

1. Understand what Customers Value and related Customer Tools

First, understand what Customers value and why they buy from you and from
your competitors. What is important in their buying decision? To do this
you have to understand Customer Value, its terminology, its usage, its
advantage both for quantitative metrics such as Customer Value Added and
mind–set changes and implementation of Customer Value techniques such as
Customer Strategy, Customer-Centric Circles, Customer Bill of Rights and
the Circle of Promises, Zero complaints etc. You must use Total Customer
Value Management (Total CVM) effectively. If you are following some of
these, you are already on your way.

In summary, understand Customers and what they value, and have the mind-set
to add greater value to them than competition.

So let us look at these items in some detail:

What do Customers Value?
Value is what something is worth to a Customer. What is it that he finds in
your products and services that is better than competition? Is it the
product, or the price or the cost of doing business, your people, or your
brand? We soon start to understand where we are better and where we are
worse. Obviously we need to communicate where we are better, and work on
improving where we are worse.

We also should be able to figure out what is most important to the customer
in his buying decision. What are other important factors? Why?

Customer Strategy:
Do you have a Customer strategy? Can you develop one at your level? How do
we understand the Customer’s expectations? How do we deliver on these?
Simplistically, let’s say the Customer expects the service person to come
to his home on time. How do we ensure this happens, so that the Customer is
not kept waiting or bets anxious? As you look at this case by case, you
will develop ways of using your understanding of the Customer to give him a
better experience and create better value for him.

Customer Centric Circles:
Just like you yourself are getting deeply involved with the Customer
through understanding him and giving him better offerings through this
knowledge, you would like your front line people to deliver more. You
cannot whip them into a team (like one does with carriage horses) and
expect them to perform or move faster. It is better for us to give them a
chance to think about the Customer and his needs based on the experience
your front line people have gained over the years. On reflection of this
knowledge of Customers, they will come up with what to do for the Customer,
and make him happier. They will suggest easy wins that makes a Customer
feel good. Suddenly you will have a team that thinks about the Customer and
is willing to go the extra mile for him.

The Customer’s Bill of Rights:
Your Company may or may not have a Customer’s Bill of Rights. You can make
one for reference if there isn’t one. You can pretend to be the Customer
and ask what my reasonable rights are as a Customer. Then work on
delivering these rights yourself and through your team. You can build a Circle of Promises with your team so that there is reasonable
assurance that the Customer will get his rights.

Now you have started a Continuous Customer Improvement Program, and if you
ensure mistakes are corrected systemically, you will start to reach a Zero
Complaints thinking.

As you reflect on all this, you will realise that your mind-set has changed
and that you are becoming a great Customer expert.

2.
Know more than your Colleagues and be recognised as the Customer Expert

With your understanding, two things will happen. You will have more
knowledge than your colleagues. You can start using some of the knowledge
proactively. Using more of your knowledge will require your educating and
helping your colleagues and bosses, and slowly the Total CVM program will
take hold. But certainly start where you can with what is within your
control. First change yourself and your thinking. Unlearn old ideas. Bring
in the new ones.

Remember, to be effective, you must break silos, have team work with all
departments in offering the Customer a seamless experience and enhanced
value. Some of this you can impact, and some of this will happen because
your bosses will believe you, have greater faith in you and give you
greater responsibility.

3. It’s all about Mind-set and Attitude

To be successful, you must have the right mind-set. You know that when you
are in your company or your mind is focussed on your functional job, you
are trained to think like an executive, and not like a Customer. Once in a
while, take of your executive hat and wear your Customer hat. See and feel
the difference. Inculcate a Customer mind-set. Help your front line people
with a Customer attitude and mind-set. Just don’t keep training them on
skills. Help them into a self-education and a self-reflection way of
learning. Let them tell you what they want to do for the Customer. Help
them in this process by incorporating Customer Centric Circles.

A great feeling for the Customer and doing the right thing for him/her will
emerge. Combine this thinking with Customer friendly processes.

4.
Go from being a Functional Manager to being a Value Creator

All this learning will move you from being a functional manager to being a
Value Creator. Consciously create value and think of ways to do this for
yourself and the Customer. You will then create more value for yourself,
and create value for others, who in return will create value for you.

Recall that a Customer Expert creates Value for the eco-system: for
himself, his colleagues, his employees, his partners, supply chain and
delivery chain, society and for the shareholder, and thereby for the
Customer.

5. Join Associations and Learn from Others

You have to be on a continuous learning and awareness program. So much is
changing. Processes are changing. AI is coming in. Cost cutting and other
corporate moves will force you to think of better ways to achieve your
Customer goals. One such way is to learn from others, your competition and
peers.

Join associations like Customer Value Creation International, Customer
Think, and Linked in sites such as the Journal of Creating Value. Interact
with Customer Value Foundation and others. Join LinkedIn groups such as
Journal of Creating Value.

Learn from others. Become leaders of next practices. Do not just seek best
practices.

Gautam Mahajan, President of Customer Value Foundation is the leading global leader in Customer Value Management. Mr Mahajan worked for a Fortune 50 company in the USA for 17 years and had hand-on experience in consulting, training of leaders, professionals, managers and CEOs from numerous MNCs and local conglomerates like Tata, Birla and Godrej groups. He is also the author of widely acclaimed books "Customer Value Investment: Formula for Sustained Business Success" and "Total Customer Value Management: Transforming Business Thinking." He is Founder Editor of the Journal of Creating Value (jcv.sagepub.com) and runs the global conference on Creating Value (https://goo.gl/4f56PX).

[11/29/2018]
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